An armed response unit with the help of a helicopter responded to the calls ready to rescue the big cat.

They were, however, left red-faced when it turned out to be a large model made of chicken wire by a grandmother, as reported by Daily Mail.

An 85-year-old local sculptor, Juliet Simpson, laughed off the siege, saying she had been alerted by her son Duncan.

"My son Duncan rang up and said there were armed police on the hill leading up to my house. Ten of them. By then I could see the helicopter above, and I thought, 'Goodness me!' So I went up and saw the police Land Rover, the I said, 'Do you want to be introduced to this tiger?" Juliet said.

Juliet, the artist, offered to introduce the police to the statue, which they saw to be pretty lifelike.
Photo: Triangle News/Juliet SimpsonSource: UGC

The statue is reported to be a few metres away from Juliet's house and a path generally used by people excercising.

The police were introduced to the 'tiger' and even stayed longer chatting with Juliet about the model, which was very lifelike.

After the encounter, police informed the public that they had found no risk to the public as it was not a wild cat. It was not disclosed however whether the statue would be relocated to prevent further alarm in future or if it's home would remain stable.

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